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Relatives of Ireland’s martyred heroes rally to preserve Easter Rising HQ

Heart of a Dublin - Last Battlefield of 1916, on Moore Street, is the soul of a nation

By: ROBIN MARY HEANEY | Published Wednesday, May 2, 2012, 8:54 AM | Updated Wednesday, May 2, 2012, 8:54 AM

Find your rebel ancestors online with the most comprehensive records of the 1916 Easter Rising

They are a part of the history of the Irish nation. Their relatives signed the Proclamation of the Republic and led the Easter Rising in 1916. And, these descendants of the executed leaders of the Provisional Government today are leading a different movement, one which seeks to preserve and protect the last battlefield of 1916 from the commercial interests and crass development which threatens to destroy the National Monument, which is Moore Street.

Just as their relatives joined together to fight the British forces in 1916, today the descendants of those brave leaders are members of the Save Moore Street Committee which seeks to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Easter Rising by creating a living monument to the revolutionary era by preserving and restoring the street where the GPO Garrison sought shelter and five members of the Provisional Government made the decision to surrender to the British forces to prevent further bloodshed.

Right now, that street faces an assault by commercial interests which could destroy its remaining eighteenth century architecture and eliminate the small shops and street market flavor that has characterized Moore Street since the nineteenth century.  And, most importantly, those actions could destroy an important historical treasure, making it simply a footnote in a Dublin guidebook.

“As you can imagine, our heritage was drummed into us at an early age.  ”, said Muriel McAuley, granddaughter of Thomas MacDonagh, one of the seven signatories of the Proclamation and Commandant of the Jacob’s Biscuit Garrison, during the Rising, who was executed by British firing squad on May , 1916. “It was also suggested that we not speak politically, as it would not be seen as we speaking, but our forebears”, she continued.  “Many of the other descendants have the same attitude.  We tend not to get involved in committees and organizations, but when it became obvious that not only the last headquarters of 1916, but also the last command headquarters which had not been either demolished or virtually rebuilt was about to be just about flattened, with just a cursory shell remaining, then we felt that we could not stand by and let it happen without protest.  We owe this to coming generations. “

Mrs. McAuley, in fact, has connections to three of the executed leaders. Her mother, the daughter of Commandant MacDonagh, also was a godchild of Padraig Pearse, and a niece of Grace Gifford, who married Joseph Mary Plunkett, at Kilmainham Jail on the eve of his execution.

The 1916 relatives hope that their involvement in the campaign to preserve and protect the Moore Street Terrace will raise awareness of the significance of this area, designated a National Monument in 2007, and the events which occurred in the streets, shops and apartments of Moore Street on April 27 through 29, in 1916.

Joseph Plunkett’s grand-niece Honor O Brolchain points out that, until she became involved in the Save Moore Street Campaign, she was unaware of the importance of the street to the story of the Easter Rising, despite the fact that Joseph and his two brothers all surrendered on Moore Street.

She believes that many Irish people simply presumed that the Rising ended when the members of the GPO Garrison walked out of that building and surrendered on what is now O’Connell Street, a presumption supported by Hollywood’s version of events depicted in the movie Michael Collins.

But the GPO Garrison did not surrender as Hollywood tells the story. Rather, after days of bombardment from British guns, and with the GPO in flames, the garrison evacuated the Post Office, under fire, through Henry Place, and on to Moore Street. They first stopped at No. 10, but then broke through the interior walls of the attached buildings.

The provisional Government set up their last headquarters in the back room of No. 16, Plunketts Poulterers. The volunteers continued tunneling through to No. 25, thus occupying the entire block. Structural evidence of the rebels’ tunneling remains in several properties within the terrace, according to Committee members. And the brickwork on some of the buildings reflects the scars inflicted by British ordnance.

James Connolly Heron, great-grandson of the Commander of the Irish Citizens Army and Proclamation signatory, the executed James Connolly, feels the fight to Save Moore Street, is very important because “it is incumbent on the State to honour the memory of all the men and women of 1916 through the creation of a 1916 cultural and historic quarter in this area - the very birthplace of our nation. They were, after all, our golden generation - a generation prepared to sacrifice their lives for their country unlike those of a later one - prepared to sacrifice their country for their lavish lifestyles.”

And it appears that the government may be listening. On April 24th, the 96th anniversary of the start of the Easter Rising, Ireland’s Minister for Tourism Leo Varadkar annonced that he plans to commission a feasibility study to determine whether the upper end of Dublin’s O’Connell Street could be turned into a 1916 heritage quarter.

Moore Street, Dublin already had a long history before April 1916. The area was developed on land which originally was part of a 12th century Cistercian monastery, and during the 18th century, the Moore Street Terrace, currently Nos. 10 to 25, was built to provide housing for tradesmen and professionals who served the grand houses which lined what was then called Sackville Mall and is now O’Connell Street, just one block away, according to history provided by Mr. Heron.

As time passed, storefronts replaced the homes and the area developed into a market street, where Dubliners shopped for fresh meat and poultry.

Helen Litton, the grand-niece of executed Rising leaders Thomas Clarke, who was a member of the Provisional Government and Ned Daly, who commanded the Four Courts Garrison, and the granddaughter of a Volunteer who made a charge up Moore Street to clear the way for the evacuation, recalls shopping at the outdoor market stalls with her granny and as a young housewife. She believes that an important part of the preservation effort on Moore Street is maintaining the character of the area by providing for a street market.

In 1916, the shops of Moore Street were diverse, and included T.F. Cogan provision dealer at No. 10; Mrs. Norton’s china and glass at No. 14; Miss O’Gorman’s clothes dealer at No. 15; Patrick Plunkett’s poultry and fish at No. 16 and R.J. Gore druggist at No. 17. These shops and the gardens behind them bore witness to the final hours of the struggle of the Provisional Government after it evacuated the burning GPO until its leaders made the heart-wrenching decision to surrender.

Stories from Moore Street demonstrate the bravery, love of country and love of family exhibited by the Volunteers in the waning days and hours of the Rising.

Honor O Brolchain recalls the letter written by her great-uncle, Joseph Plunkett “somewhere in Moore Street” on the day of the surrender, to his fiancée Grace Gifford, in which he wrote that he had tried to arrange for them to meet and get married but had been unable to do so. He went on to say,” my other actions have been as right as I could see and make them and I cannot wish them undone.”

Another Plunkett brother, George, and two Volunteer friends, while erecting a barricade near No. 10 heard moaning across the street, and George rushed across, under fire, and retrieved the injured man, a British soldier, who was well-cared for by the Volunteers until the end.

And it was in No. 16 that the leaders of the provisional Government, including Padraig Pearse, Tom Clarke, Sean MacDermott, Joseph Plunkett and the badly wounded James Connolly met in a Council of War on April 29th to consider surrender after observing civilian
casualties occurring on Moore Street, as British guns continued to strike at the Volunteers.

Elizabeth O’Farrell left No. 15, under a white flag of truce, and walked up Moore Street to arrange the terms of surrender with the British commander on the afternoon of April 29th and Patrick Pearse signed the Decision to Surrender here on Moore Street.

It was in the yard behind Nos. 20 and 21, O'Hanlon’s Fishmongers that the members of the GPO Garrison were addressed by Sean McDermott, and informed of the surrender.
And, finally, as Ms. O Brolchain stated, recalling the bravery of her great-uncles and their comrades, “To make the decision to surrender for humanitarian reasons and not know what the outcome would be must have left them desolate and yet they were courageous to the end and, with Plunkett, already dying of tuberculosis, and Willie Pearse leading and Clarke and McDermott bringing up the rear, they marched out in such style as to take the British military aback.”

Moore Street, Dublin…an important market area for generations of Dublin families…Once filled with market stalls and provisioners, it now bears the scars of urban blight and decay, but almost 100 years ago, that area witnessed the agony of the Irish nation at war, as it struggled to free itself of the yoke of British colonial power.

But now… The relatives of the 1916 heroes have been in the forefront of the movement to create a living monument to the men and women who fought and died to reawaken the spirit of freedom among the Irish people. And they hope to create a living memorial that honors Moore Street’s past…her market roots, her heroic deeds, the brave men and women who struggled there for the ideals of freedom…and focuses on her future…as a dynamic part of Dublin.

If you believe that Moore Street should be preserved as a historical and cultural memorial to Ireland’s heroic age, and the men and women who fought for its freedom, let the Minister for Tourism Leo Varadkar (minister@dttas.ie ) know how you feel or write to the Board of Fáilte Ireland, 88 – 95 Amiens Street, Dublin 1, Ireland, info@failteireland.ie, and let them know that heritage tourism interests you.
 

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